Snap Disc Bypass??

[The Man]

Hey Fellow Firies,

I've got a Travis Industries Large Flush Insert made by fireplace xtroidinaire that I have in pieces now for its yearly cleaning/maintenance. Ever since I bought this stove I've had a lot of trouble with it including a lot of warranty work done including replacing the Cat and the green start system about 5 times....its been broken now for about 5 months still and i just went and complained at my dealer yesterday, so hopefully it will get fixed again soon. Another problem I had off the get go was that the snap disc never worked very well. It took about an hour of burning hot until it would kick on the blowers and then it would cycle on/off as it cooled down. The installers said it was not making good enough contact with the bottom of the fireplace and they ended up jamming a penny in between the disc and the stove to keep better heat transfer. I have to give it to them, it stopped the cycling in the middle of the night which was driving me nuts, but it still takes an exorbitant amount of time to start the blowers.

RIght now one of my blowers bearing seems to be going out, so I have them out to clean them up and see if I can find the squeaky one. After examining the wiring to everything it seems like it would be no big deal to install a simple bypass switch to be able to bypass the snap disc entirely so I can start getting heat out of the blowers sooner than 30 minutes or so. I was thinking of connecting the two wires leading to the snap disc(upstream of the disc) to a simple radio shack switch drilled through the front plate. Can I get some agreement or dissent as to whether or not you all think that will work or if it is even a good idea in the first place?

I was thinking that I could bypass the disc with the switch(essentially connecting the leads) to get the blower going when I know it should be and then switching it back to the off position during mid-burn so that the blowers will shut down when the stove cools off again.

The other question is if you agree with my assessment of ease and functionality is what kind of switch should I buy? It seems to be bringing in a full 120v from the outlet because there isn't a transformer inline anywhere that I can see. However the wires seem to be pretty thin gauge, even thinner than normal 15A outlet copper. What say you?

 

[The Man]

Blower part is 228-10069

 

[begreen]

30 minutes for warmup before the blowers come on is not uncommon. It's a good idea to let the full stove body warm up first.

 

[pdxdave]

Hey Fellow Firies,

I've got a Travis Industries Large Flush Insert made by fireplace xtroidinaire that I have in pieces now for its yearly cleaning/maintenance. Ever since I bought this stove I've had a lot of trouble with it including a lot of warranty work done including replacing the Cat and the green start system about 5 times....its been broken now for about 5 months still and i just went and complained at my dealer yesterday, so hopefully it will get fixed again soon. Another problem I had off the get go was that the snap disc never worked very well. It took about an hour of burning hot until it would kick on the blowers and then it would cycle on/off as it cooled down. The installers said it was not making good enough contact with the bottom of the fireplace and they ended up jamming a penny in between the disc and the stove to keep better heat transfer. I have to give it to them, it stopped the cycling in the middle of the night which was driving me nuts, but it still takes an exorbitant amount of time to start the blowers.

RIght now one of my blowers bearing seems to be going out, so I have them out to clean them up and see if I can find the squeaky one. After examining the wiring to everything it seems like it would be no big deal to install a simple bypass switch to be able to bypass the snap disc entirely so I can start getting heat out of the blowers sooner than 30 minutes or so. I was thinking of connecting the two wires leading to the snap disc(upstream of the disc) to a simple radio shack switch drilled through the front plate. Can I get some agreement or dissent as to whether or not you all think that will work or if it is even a good idea in the first place?

I was thinking that I could bypass the disc with the switch(essentially connecting the leads) to get the blower going when I know it should be and then switching it back to the off position during mid-burn so that the blowers will shut down when the stove cools off again.

The other question is if you agree with my assessment of ease and functionality is what kind of switch should I buy? It seems to be bringing in a full 120v from the outlet because there isn't a transformer inline anywhere that I can see. However the wires seem to be pretty thin gauge, even thinner than normal 15A outlet copper. What say you?

You'd want to bypass (short) the wires going through the heat switch on the bottom of the stove. That's it. Then the fan will turn on/off as you turn on the fan speed control knob.

 

[ElmBurner]

You can buy snap disc switches that turn on or off at all different sorts of temperatures.

If you want it to come on sooner, buy a part that switches on at a lower temp than what you have. There should be some identifying information on the switch that you can reverse Google to determine the specs.

But yeah, blowing a fan over a cold stove just wastes electricity. I don't expect that you get much heat off the thing until it is uncomfortable to touch and that's probably getting up in the 140 deg range or higher.

 

[Dmitry]

I'm going to solve your problem
Had the same issue with my insert. Have the same kind. When the ash accumulates on a bottom, it takes abnormally long time for fan to kick in.(Ash is very good insulator).
You need to bypass snap disk, just like I did. You don't need anything , just connect 2 wires and throw the damn thing away.( or store it in case if you want it back.)
It's located behind right blower. Disconnect power, cut the snap disc, connect two wires safely . You going to be able to turn it on and off with your regular switch. I did it and not regretting it.

 

[BZN]

Newb 44 elite owner with a similar question.
Ours has a "summer" switch that turns on the blower manually. A knob that adjusts the fan speed.

It is possible to switch the fan OFF? Is it unwise to do so (exhaust heat)?

The fan tends to be a bit noisy at times in a room with the TV going it's distracting. I'd like to be able to turn the fan off when we want to hear the TV or something. I'm sure it's not hard to put a switch in there, but is it dangerous?

 

[begreen]

Is the blower too noisy at low speed?

 

[bholler]

It is possible to switch the fan OFF? Is it unwise to do so (exhaust heat)?

The fan tends to be a bit noisy at times in a room with the TV going it's distracting. I'd like to be able to turn the fan off when we want to hear the TV or something. I'm sure it's not hard to put a switch in there, but is it dangerous?

No it is not dangerous.

 

[BZN]

The blower is a bit noisy at low speed. Not jackhammer noisy, but while watching TV, the white noise is obvious and muffles dialog.

 

[Dmitry]

I'm trying to use my fan as little as possible, unless want to heat the room quick. When fan is off insert burns hotter and more efficient. If im close to over firing I turn the fan on and it cools the insert right away.

 

[Benchwrench]

I would leave the factory (temp. set) snap disc in place, and install your new switch. This way your fans will shut down appropriately and come on if when unattended. You will still have full control. My stove has both these features, I find they work well in conjunction with the other.

 

[ronchable2]

Hey Fellow Firies,

I've got a Travis Industries Large Flush Insert made by fireplace xtroidinaire that I have in pieces now for its yearly cleaning/maintenance. Ever since I bought this stove I've had a lot of trouble with it including a lot of warranty work done including replacing the Cat and the green start system about 5 times....its been broken now for about 5 months still and i just went and complained at my dealer yesterday, so hopefully it will get fixed again soon. Another problem I had off the get go was that the snap disc never worked very well. It took about an hour of burning hot until it would kick on the blowers and then it would cycle on/off as it cooled down. The installers said it was not making good enough contact with the bottom of the fireplace and they ended up jamming a penny in between the disc and the stove to keep better heat transfer. I have to give it to them, it stopped the cycling in the middle of the night which was driving me nuts, but it still takes an exorbitant amount of time to start the blowers.

RIght now one of my blowers bearing seems to be going out, so I have them out to clean them up and see if I can find the squeaky one. After examining the wiring to everything it seems like it would be no big deal to install a simple bypass switch to be able to bypass the snap disc entirely so I can start getting heat out of the blowers sooner than 30 minutes or so. I was thinking of connecting the two wires leading to the snap disc(upstream of the disc) to a simple radio shack switch drilled through the front plate. Can I get some agreement or dissent as to whether or not you all think that will work or if it is even a good idea in the first place?

I was thinking that I could bypass the disc with the switch(essentially connecting the leads) to get the blower going when I know it should be and then switching it back to the off position during mid-burn so that the blowers will shut down when the stove cools off again.

The other question is if you agree with my assessment of ease and functionality is what kind of switch should I buy? It seems to be bringing in a full 120v from the outlet because there isn't a transformer inline anywhere that I can see. However the wires seem to be pretty thin gauge, even thinner than normal 15A outlet copper. What say you?

Sorry I'm jumping on an old thread... did you ever make this modification? Is it as simple as putting a toggle switch bypassing the snap disc?

 

[Dmitry]

absolutely, just trow it away and connect wires. you going to be able to turn it off and on manually . when ash collects on a bottom it takes forever to kick in. i did it, never looked back. no need for stupid thing. it comes on late and shuts way to late. no need to any switch, just connect wires

 

[ronchable2]

added the switch this past weekend, kind of a pain in the butt to access the wiring and what not but I got it all hooked up and functioning. Put the switch below the faceplate so you can't even see it - so I maintain the functionality of the auto off feature over night with the ability to turn on the stove fan the second I want to start pumping heat out!

Surprisingly simple to do.